The Research-Innovate business funding programme, which links research and innovation with entrepreneurship and society, starts on Thursday, June 6.

The Research and Innovation programme has a budget of €300 million and grant rates for SMEs of up to 80%. In addition, incentives are provided for businesses to cooperate with research organisations.

At the event for the presentation of the action on Monday morning, the Minister of Development, Kostas Skrekas, stressed that "the issue we are focusing on, apart from funding, is what we produce with the innovation that develops in our country.".

Referring to patents, he said that we spend the same money as Portugal, but there, annually, around 300–340 patents are approved, Ireland spends more than 1,000, while in Greece we have 170–180 patents. 

Mr. Skrekas recalled that, in addition to the new action, incentives have been introduced in the development law, and the government does not stop looking for ways to support the interconnection of research and innovation with the university community and the market.

Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Nikos Papathanasis reiterated that more than 60% of the 2024 growth will come from the Public Investment Programme, which, this year, will amount to 12.2 billion euros, up 12%, and will be the largest in the last 14 years.

Furthermore, he noted that European resources play a catalytic role in the development of the Greek economy, along with national resources, adding that since Greece is among the top developing countries in Europe, the upcoming policies in the EU are of particular importance for our country.